Christian Living

Righteous Prayer of Faith

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
10/12/20
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“Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (James 5:13-16)

James, the Jerusalem Counsel leader, asks three questions in our text and follows them with an answer. The first question is, “Is anyone among you suffering?” We all suffer; everyone who is a follower of Jesus will suffer. We live in the aging tent of our bodies, and as the years fly by, the physical self will grow old and wear away. Our daily walk with the Lord, the tempter comes to divert our path from the straight and narrow way to the Kingdom of God. As we face the trials and tribulations of this life here, there are times that doubt may interfere with our faith.

When we are suffering, James tells us to pray, to cast our burdens on the Lord. “Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” (Psalm 55:22) Our Lord and Master, who has suffered everything that we can experience in this world, has the wisdom to say the right words for our comfort. He is able because His counsel is with God the Father. “The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.” (Isaiah 50:4)

Our Lord Jesus is the head of His Church’s body, and He will sustain the members of His body. We know that in our eternal home, life will be abundant. None needs to wait till that glorious day comes when we are at His throne. If we abide in Him now, in this world, life here will be abundant. We will have a life fulfilling the purpose that He has prepared for us, and our life will be far above our imagination. “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” (Ephesians 3:20)

Jesus went to the cross to secure a place for His loved ones that they may fellowship with Him and His Father forever in a place that shall never grow old. It did that for us because He loved us, even while we were in rebellion, and now that we are secure in His hand, nothing can take us away. “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39)

James then asks, “Is anyone cheerful?” There are times in this world when all is well with our life. When I leave in the morning to go to my workplace, I catch all the traffic lights green. That may not seem like the greatest thing, but being superstitious, I call that a “Green Light Day.” Oddly enough, there are days where things seem to work out better than expected. Maybe I shouldn’t expect anything less? There are months, to my amazement, that I reach all my financial needs. Then there are years where I enjoy good health despite my love for heart attack burgers. When I consider all things, I agree with James; we are to sing praises to our God and provider. He has “delivered me from evil.” (Matthew 6:13)

I can’t sing, never could carry a melody, and never could keep time. But how can I not sing praise to my Lord for the abundance of blessing He showers upon me each day, even if they are Green Light or Amber? “Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD! For He has delivered the soul of the needy one From the hand of evildoers.” (Jeremiah 20:13)

Solomon wrote in Proverbs, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:6) I always thought that if I included God in all that I do, He would ensure that all worked out my way. But I have learned that acknowledging the Lord is not doing what we want but ensuring that we live in His will. In public speaking, I used to chain myself to notes, but now I trust the Lord to give me the words He would have me speak. Now it is just as much a lesson for me as it is for those who are listening. I am allowing God to direct my path. “Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever.” (1 Peter 4:11)

In times of our suffering and joy, James advises us to give both to the Lord. It often happens that in times of suffering, we are quick to call on the Lord for His help and counsel, but in times of joy, we forget to give Him the praise. I learned this several years ago, when I maintained a prayer list for the Church. I would receive calls each day from people who wanted to be added to the prayer list. Seldom would I hear from those people asking to be removed or telling me how God had answered. A severely ill person was on the prayer list for months, and I checked up to see how she was doing. I was told that she had gone on home to the Lord a couple of months past. I was a little distraught that we had been praying for her for months after she had passed. When there is joy we need to give God the praise. In prayer, talking it over with the Lord and listening to His counsel that we find our peace. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

If a member of the Church is sick and enduring weakness, then they should call upon the elders of the Church to pray and anoint them with oil. “Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” I must admit that I am a bit aggravated to go to prayer meetings and have the leader practically beg the membership for names to be placed on the prayer list. If someone wants prayer, then they should ask. It is their business, not ours. If they cannot humble themselves before men, then how can they humble themselves before Almighty God?

The elders must pray for the sick and anoint then with oil. The elders are the spiritual leaders of the congregation. They are spiritually mature and should have a strong prayer life with the Lord. The result grants them the wisdom to use the knowledge of God’s Word towards the sick and in reverence towards the Lord. “For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.” (Titus 1:7-9)

The anointing with oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power. Spiritually mature elders should have a close walk with the Spirit of God and, therefore, a good fellowship with the Spirit. The best example is when Jesus taught at the Synagogue in Nazareth and proclaimed that the Spirit of the Lord had anointed him. The Spirit is where the power is, and if you are sick, you will want the power of the Spirit of the Lord to heal you. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)

Healing for the sick by the elders can be seen in two different contexts. Many come to the Church to be prayed over when they are sick. I have visited hospitals to pray for the sick, and most are healed. By His grace, God has given man the knowledge to perform amazing things for the sick resulting in their healing. Yet if that is the only sickness we are interested in, we have missed the greater sickness. Physical healing is a great thing, but spiritual healing is miraculous.

The body of a man is bound to return to the dust, and all will eventually die. My father, in later years, worked to prolong his time here. He never felt that his work was completed. Yet, his hope was in the future home in the Kingdom of God. Man needs to be primarily concerned with his spiritual wellbeing first and praise God for his physical wellbeing. The day is coming when our spiritual home is the ultimate destination. That is the essential healing. “And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

James makes an important point in that mutual confession and prayer brings healing for both the spirit and the physical. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The heavy burden of sin is removed by confession and benefits both the spirit and the body. Sin is a weight to both. As Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Sin has weight both to the spirit and the body.

James reminds us that mutual confession and prayer brings healing, both physically and spiritually. These free us from the heavy burdens (physically and spiritually) of unresolved sin and removes hindrances to the work of the Holy Spirit. Our confession and prayer to one another break the power of sin over our lives and holds us accountable to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Effectual prayer is fervent prayer. Being fervent is a display of passionate intensity in expressing the desire of our hearts. We gain the heart of God through fervent prayer. To pray in God’s will that His will be done in our lives, we must be as passionate as Jesus was about going to the cross. Did Jesus want to go to the cross? Who would? I don’t think He did, but because of His love for the Father and His love for you and me, He was willing. In the Garden, He prayed that the Father would remove this cup of the crucifixion from Him. So fervent was His prayer that his sweat was as drops of blood. “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) Jesus was more passionate about doing the will of the Father, and this should be our passion, to do His will.

Thomas N Kirkpatrick

First Baptist Church of Durant, November 10, 2017